Transformers Prime: Reign of Megatron - Camp 13 Short Story
by RadlerM
Summary: In a "what if" scenario where Megatron wins the battle for Earth and successfully cyberforms the planet with the Omega Lock, a few captured Autobots find some joy in one of the most brutal labour camps the Decepticons set up after the fall of Earth.


**Transformers Prime: Reign of Megatron - Camp 13 Short Story**

"Get up you waste of metal!" one of the officers yelled to me. I spit some leaking energon from my mouth. "I said stand!" he thrashed his blade at my lower back. This was one of the most brutal camps the cons' set up after the fall of Earth. Hearing stories of the others sounds like heaven, at least the closest Hell can get to Heaven, as the humans would have put it.

The guard heaves the blade into my wound, piercing my inner circuitry. "If you don't get your tailpipe moving," he jabs even further, "this will be the most pleasant part of your day." He yanks the blade out of me and I cross my hand hand over my body to clamp down on the wound.

I need to move now, I think to myself through the pain. I clench my damaged side and hoist myself to my feet. All the others are looking at me in shock.

"Now get back to work!"I glare at the guard in ferocity wishing I could strike him down.

"Fine," I reluctantly declare. The guard scoffs at me and walks away, picking on the occasional slave along the way. I clench my leaking wound as I hobble back over to my station on the assembly line. I feel the other Autobots optics beating down on me, I look up at them and they all snap their gaze back to their work.

"Are you going to be alright?" one of them finally asked. He was a young Autobot with a promising structure to him, broad shoulders strong body. He would have made a good soldier.

"Nothing will be alright with Optimus Prime gone," I remark "besides, we'll all be dead within the week."

"How do you know?" another one piped up to the left of me. Relatively small for a soldier, but this war called for desperate measures.

"I've seen them kill slaves that haven't even been here for a single solar cycle. That's proof enough I'd say," I snark at him. They all look at each other with fear and dread in their optics.

"How long have you been here?" the young one asks.

"Longer than most that's for sure," I proclaim. "I'm good at my job and I don't make a scene. That's the key." They all glance to my right and immediately concentrate furiously on their work in front of them on the benches. It's a guard. I can't see him but I can feel his presence. Cons have a unique quality in them, they all reek of spilled energon. It's either Autobot energon, or it's their own.

He snarls as he walks past us hard at work. Even with my leaking wound I'm still managing to get my job done at a decent pace, the hard work isn't helping my systems stop the energon flow. I look down at the puddle gathering around my knees. It flows along the ground, like a river leading to a vast ocean of others. 'I have to get this patched up,' I think to myself.

"I used to be a medic before all of this," someone behind me says, "the wound needs to be treated. You've got a leak in your Secondary Energon supply system."

"And how would you come to that conclusion?" I sarcastically remark without turning around, "for all we know it could be a leak in the main energon supply. Or, you know, anything that contains flowing energon."

"If it were anything else your systems would have stopped the leakage by now. Your Primary and Secondary Supply are the two largest distributions in your body. Your primary is closer to your outer armour so in the event of a puncture your body knows to redirect it to other distribution," he informs, "both however carry nearly the same amount of energon throughout your body."

"And you think you can patch me up?" I ask in doubt, "the Cons' don't like to keep medics in the camps specifically for this reason."

"I opted to disclose my military history instead of my medical."

"And you're prepared to risk your life just to save mine?"

"Yes. Similar to the Earthlings these, humans, I took an oath to never allow a cybertronian to die on my watch. At Least not without trying to save them," he announces.

"What's your name?" I ask.

"Flatline. Autobot Flatline. You?" he replies.

"Roadblock."

"Well, Roadblock, how'd you end up in this dump?"

"I was caught raiding a Decepticon scouting outpost just outside of The Krypt." The Krypt is what the Autobots call the first Decepticon city to be built on Earth in Megatron's name. We call it The Krypt because Megatron never leaves it, the real name is Kryphollis. Built to be Megatron's temple at the heart of his new ever expanding empire, as he put it.

"I've never heard anyone get that close to The Krypt and survive," the skinny one says. I look at him with a sliver of annoyance, "I'm Nailrim by the way."

"Well that's cause I wasn't out there alone. You don't try and raid anything near the heart of Megatron if you don't have a team with you. I was tasked with the distraction. Decided to play a classic 'throw a stone at the guard trick' and it worked."

"What happened after?" asks the broad one

"By the time I got to where the rest of the team was supposed to be they were already gone. Left me behind and took the spoils with them. I was already low on energon at this point so outrunning the seekers was not an option. I managed to get into a decent hiding place a few clicks North-West of the outpost but I couldn't go any further without causing system shutdown so I sat and waited. Either they were going to find me and kill me or they wouldn't and I'd be stuck in enemy territory waiting for someone to wander off in the right direction."

"Back-up energon flow was inactive I presume?" Flatline addresses.

"Already running low," I replied. "I didn't have to wait long before I heard a patrol officer coming my way so I had to make a judgement call. I could either sit and stay and hope he doesn't see me or I could surrender and hope that he wasn't bloodthirsty enough to go against Decepticon moral. Judging that I'm here you know what happened next."

"I'm, really sorry that happened to you," the broad one says.

"Yeah me too kid," I say in sorrow. "What's your name anyways?" He looks at me and grins.

"Broadside," he says.

"Very fitting," I say with a smile. It feels nice to smile again. In the midst of all the suffering and pain, everything felt light. For a single moment I felt free, nothing weighing down on me. As I look at them I don't see the torture around us. I don't see the gashes or the dried up energon spills. The camp changes into a lounge, and we were just a couple autobots getting together for a drink and some good times.

I close my eyes and remember this moment. Remember the smiles of my comrades, the light in their faces. The feeling of joy I haven't felt in a very long time, I don't know how long it's been and I don't want to lose it. I open my eyes and look at the faces of my friends once more. I take great pride in knowing that they will try and make the most out of their time here.

I let go of my wound and let the energon flow out of me. I'm so tired, so exhausted. I smile at them one last time, right before I fall over and sleep. I dream that I'm free, weightless and free. Swimming in an ocean spanning all the entire horizon line. I'm all alone, and yet, I don't feel alone. I'm surrounded by all my brothers and sisters that came before me, and they've been waiting for me. Just as I'll wait for them.


End file.
